Ford Fusion - beware white fusion owners

redfire88 · Joined: 04 Feb 2008 Posts: 17 Photos: 0

today I took my mother's white fusion to the car wash for its spring cleaning (it happened to be filthy btw) and i noticed that after the wash there was still some dirt on it so I came out with a towel to rub some of it out. while doing so i noticed several tiny specs of rust in the paint located around the drivers side rear fender. upon further inspection, there was rust forming on the passengers side fender too and on the doors. the paint also had loads of scuff marks that were rough to the touch where it appears it may soon be chipping. the car is a job 2 07 model, maybe it just had a bad batch of paint but I am definitely taking it into the dealer tomorrow. just wanted to inform any white paint fusion owners out there to be on the lookout and hopefully this isnt a wide spread problem.
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07 Redfire SE I-4 w/appearance pkg 5A <-- Sad

kevjur · Posted: Sun May 04, 2008 7:15 pm Post subject: white paint.

Mine doesn't have any trouble...yet. It was built 02/07. Oxford white as well. That's some scary crap. Brings back memories of my old 1988 Chev Beretta. Originally white, by the time it was laid to rest, it was 1/2 white, 1/2 grey primer. I can't remember if my Fusion is job 2 or 3. I have the flip down front seat, I'm thinking (hoping) job 3. Thanks for the warning, will definitely be looking closer when I wash/dry my car. I don't use automatic car washes, and do wax my car often however. You'd think Ford hopefully would've learned something from their late eighties, early nineties vehicles that also had the paint problems (like G.M and Chrysler).

byoozoo · Joined: 31 Dec 2007 Posts: 61 Photos: 14

god bless that warranty

kevjur · Posted: Sun May 04, 2008 7:35 pm Post subject: white paint

redfire88 · Joined: 04 Feb 2008 Posts: 17 Photos: 0

after posting this i found a lot more rust damage to the paint. but i talked to my friend who knows a lincoln-merc mechanic and he said its common on these cars, but its only visible usually on the white ones. its actually not the paint thats the problem but how they ship the cars, which they do so by railroad. what happens is that the cars on the bottom get hit with hot particles of metal from the train brakes or something and these flakes burn through the clear coat. michigan winters with the road salt bring out the rust. ill be taking it in to the dealer tomorrow. thankfully i received this information so the dealership doesn't try to blame it on us.
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07 Redfire SE I-4 w/appearance pkg 5A <-- Sad

kevjur · Posted: Sun May 04, 2008 10:34 pm Post subject: white paint

Keep us posted. Thanks.

byoozoo · Joined: 31 Dec 2007 Posts: 61 Photos: 14

i dont know how the delearship could ever think a customer was esponsible for rust ya know? nothing you can have control over.

redfire88 · Joined: 04 Feb 2008 Posts: 17 Photos: 0

thanks for the comments everyone. the situation is just as i suspected.. they tried to tell us the rust damage was from the brakes... that is until i showed them the rust forming on the hood. after arguing with the service manager, he agreed to have it acid washed under the warranty that expires after a year (i thought all cars had at least 5yr anti-corrosion coverage?). the manager inpsected the rust with a microsope and said it was still on the surface and that the acid bath should take car of it. in the mean time my poor mom is stuck with a taurus for a rental car haha. at least my fusion is still ok Smile

if anything comes up ill be sure to let everyone know
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07 Redfire SE I-4 w/appearance pkg 5A <-- Sad

PsyDoc · Joined: 01 Aug 2006 Posts: 51 Photos: 0

Your description is called "rail dust" or "chemical paint spotting" and it is the particles that are kicked up from traveling by train or just all the particles that float around in the air and end up sticking to your paint. These are most noticeable on lighter colored cars. However, for those of you with dark colors, take a glad sandwich bag and put it over your hand. Then, run your hand over the surface of your car...probably feels really rough. Make sure the car is clean before you do this. A clay bar will take these particles off pretty easily. I have not heard that the rail dust is hot enough that it "burns into the paint."

redfire88 · Joined: 04 Feb 2008 Posts: 17 Photos: 0

yea to be honest i don't know what it is from anymore. the service manager mentioned they don't ship cars in open containers anymore but i cannot verify. i could understand if it was just a couple of specks here and there but this was a wide spread problem (basically every body panel). i guess the good thing is that the damage is still surface (he checked it with a microscope) but that also means the clear coat should be ok which is good. he did try to sell us that clay stuff, meaning we would have to do it ourselves, but upon further inspection he decided an acid wash is a better bet. our biggest issue was making sure we wouldn't get charged at the lease turn-in which is still 2 years away
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07 Redfire SE I-4 w/appearance pkg 5A <-- Sad

byoozoo · Joined: 31 Dec 2007 Posts: 61 Photos: 14

see thats BS, that shit should be covered. there is no way its your fault. just like my front right speaker gets tinny and u can hear it vibrating sometimes, u better believe that if it goes bad they are replacing that sh*t. half the time i dont even listen to the stereo, so it isnt like i'm cranking it.

redfire88 · Joined: 04 Feb 2008 Posts: 17 Photos: 0

haha funny you should mention your speakers. the right front on my car rattles too but i just figured it was because i listen to my music too loud, guess i should have that checked out too. i also had my heat fail on me around christmas time. i absolutely love the fusion and wouldn't trade it for anything comparable in the market, but i thought these were supposed to be one of the highest quality cars in their segment. id hate to see how other cars compare. anyways the acid wash is supposed to take two days so ill leave an update once we get it back. thanks everyone for sharing my frustration with me
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07 Redfire SE I-4 w/appearance pkg 5A <-- Sad

wstrohm · Posted: Thu May 08, 2008 3:19 pm Post subject: White 2008 Fusion

Our 2008 Fusion with "White Suede" exterior, bought 2/08/2008, had "bonded contaminants" on the paint when delivered to us in Southern CA. I was able to clear the paint by clay barring. How do you determine the date/job number of the build? It isn't on the driver's side door jamb stickers.
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---- Bill - 2008 Fusion SE V6 Auto
Recovering Miataholic

davef81 · Joined: 27 Apr 2008 Posts: 1 Photos: 0

I have an 07 Fusion and the right front speaker rattles. I've had it in, oh, I'd say 4 or 5 times to 2 different Ford dealers. They've replaced the speaker twice. At my last visit it was passed on to Ford engineering and I was told this has to do with the type of material the interior panels are made of. They apparently are hard and get harder with the cold which then rattles against the metal. I think this was a line of bull but they did put some insulating material in between the plastic and metal and that has helped a lot. Maybe your dealer can do the same.

kevjur · Posted: Sat May 10, 2008 8:51 am Post subject: Re: White 2008 Fusion